Happy New Year and Ramblings on Auld Lang Syne

“What does the song mean? My whole life, I don’t know what this song means. It means ‘Should old acquaintance be forgot.’ Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances or does it mean that if we should happen to forget them, we should remember them which is not possible because we already forgot?”

“Well maybe it just means that maybe we should remember that we forgot them or something. Anyway, it’s about old friends.”

Yep. It’s about old friends, and getting drunk with those old friends, but not buying those old friends any beer because, look, do you really know them that well? And can’t they buy their own damn beer? Yeah. They can.

Basically, the song is asking you a rhetorical question: Should you forget your old acquaintances? Never think of them? Never think of the olden days or the days of yore or yesteryear? The answer is a resounding NO! Of course not. You should get drunk with those old acquaintances and talk about the good ol’ days! That’s what you should do!

The full sentiment of the song is lost to many of us, since in these here united states, we only sing the first verse. As a nation of drunk asses on New Year’s Eve, we don’t have time to sing eleventy verses of some Scottish song we don’t understand. There’s drink to be drunk, and some hot guy or gal with whom we want to accidentally make out and then never speak of again.

Anyway, read the lyrics for yourself. I’m fairly certain the song is about getting crunk, Scottish-style, but what do I know? I’m a known crazy person.

The English Version

The English Version in a Bagpipes Accent

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind ? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and days of old lang syne ? CHORUS: For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne. And surely you’ll buy your pint cup! and surely I’ll buy mine! And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne. CHORUS We two have run about the slopes, and picked the daisies fine ; But we’ve wandered many a weary foot, since days of auld lang syne. CHORUS We two have paddled in the stream, from morning sun till dine ; But seas between us broad have roared since auld lang syne. CHORUS And there’s a hand my trusty friend ! And give us a hand o’ thine ! And we’ll take a right good-will draught, for auld lang syne. CHORUS

Shid ald akwentans bee firgot, an nivir brocht ti mynd? Shid ald akwentans bee firgot, an ald lang syn*? CHORUS: Fir ald lang syn, ma jo, fir ald lang syn, wil tak a cup o kyndnes yet, fir ald lang syn. An sheerly yil bee yur pynt-staup! an sheerly al bee myn! An will tak a cup o kyndnes yet, fir ald lang syn. CHORUS We twa hay rin aboot the braes, an pood the gowans fyn; Bit weev wandert monae a weery fet, sin ald lang syn. CHORUS We twa hay pedilt in the burn, fray mornin sun til dyn; But seas between us bred hay roard sin ald lang syn. CHORUS An thers a han, my trustee feer! an gees a han o thyn! And we’ll tak a richt gude-willie-waucht, fir ald lang syn. CHORUS

The message is pretty clear, isn’t it? Don’t forget your old acquaintances! Don’t forget the old days! Meet up with some old friends; go out and pick some daisies; maybe paddle in a stream, hold hands, and then go to the pub!

Not so fast, though— surely you’re buying your own pint, and surely I’m buying my own pint, and yes, I will stop calling you Shirley, but look—I haven’t seen you in a while, and frankly, I’m not sure if I like you enough to buy you a pint (and dissing my Shirley joke didn’t really help your “buy me a damn pint” cause.) So why don’t you go buy your beer, I’ll buy my beer, and then we can drink our separate respective beers and talk about auld lang syne aka the good old days aka back in the day! And then later when we’re good and sloshed, we’ll hold hands and drink some more! (But I’m still not buying you a beer, so back off already.)

That’s what the lyrics mean! Right?

No wait.

Upon a reread, I think the song is saying that you should skip all the daisy picking and paddling around because that’s dumb—you should just get drunk with your old friends and talk about what y’all have been up to, and you’ll come to find that everyone is up to the same shit: picking fine daisies, running around the slopes (skiing?? golfing??), wandering many a weary foot, paddling in the stream from morning til dinner (why? For fishing? In a stream? While paddling? Something doesn’t add up. No wonder Scottish people are drunk all the time.) Also, there’s a sea roaring between you. I bet the sea is a metaphor for distance, hence the old acquaintance business.

I think that’s it.
Or is it? I don’t know. I just spent a half hour trying to figure out how to add tables to this post. I’m not exactly an expert on anything. Besides, I’ve never really thought about what the song means. I’m just spit-ballin’ here.

Point is, go out, get drunk (or not) and hang out with friends (or not) and just wait until midnight—if the world doesn’t end, then go to sleep and wake up and curse yourself for having drunk so much the night before (or not).

[videos after the jump] More »

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New Years Open Thread

What are you all getting into?

I think I am going to spend the night fighting for position on the couch while gaming or watching tv. Not sure. Exciting, no?

*** Update ***

I know we are sposed to be thinking positive things about the fresh New Year, but I need to get this off my chest while it is 2010. Rosie is such a hot mess she is driving me insane. She sits near me and whines whines whines unless we are on walks, and simply can not entertain herself without my undivided attention. And I’ve been around JRT’s before- she is a special needs JRT. She is also the only dog I know who, given 6 feet of leash, can perfectly hog-tie herself and have 3 ft of leash left over to attempt to trip me- before we are even out the door. And then there are the walks, with her weaving back and forth and behind me and in front of me, tangling Lily’s leash and tripping me, all while barking and getting every damned dog in the neighborhood wound up. Lily was a mess on the leash at first, too, but she learned quite quickly. Not so much with Rosie.

Damned spazz.

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Just Awful

Driving while black, diabetic and hypoglycemic will get your window broken, your seat belt cut, seven shocks from a Taser, a dislocated elbow, and a felony arrest, even after the cops realize the reason for your behavior. The video is horrific.

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All Hail the Secret Austerity Czar

Our Glibertarian overlords have big plans for the 112th Congress. Despite wedging on about loving the Constitution, transparency, Government by the people, populism, deficits, etc., etc., etc.—the Leaders of the incoming Republican Confederate Party House majority have shown their fidelity to the oligarchs by crafting rules designed to blow holes into any effort to balance the budget while still transferring yet more wealth from the poor and middle class to the richest in the land.

A recent editorial in the NYTs explained the madness of the new rules:

The new Republican rules will gut pay-as-you-go because they require offsets only for entitlement increases, not for tax cuts. In effect, the new rules will codify the Republican fantasy that tax cuts do not deepen the deficit.

It gets worse. The new rules mandate that entitlement-spending increases be offset by spending cuts only — and actually bar the House from raising taxes to pay for such spending.

And just before Christmas the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities identified an even larger problem with the new rules. It seems that these rules would make Glibertarian fanboy, Paul Ryan, a super secret and all powerful Austerity Czar.

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Open Thread: Part-TAY!

So… who’s got plans for the evening?

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Open Thread

So I spent several thousand dollars picking up the car from the garage yesterday, and boy was it worth it. Runs like a champion, and I had been considering looking for a “new” used car later on in the year, finances allowing, and the guy told me that would be stupid because I can get several more years of quality driving out of my car. That’s great news, because I love how it rides. Love my Subaru.

At any rate, went to the garage this morning, started the car to go to the post office, and… the garage door apparently died.

I just said to hell with it, went back upstairs, and went back to bed. This basically sums up 2010 in a nutshell for me. Started with a broken shoulder that disabled me for months, went into a series of appliance and computer failures, followed by multiple deaths of friends and family, a car failure, and now this. 2011 can’t get here soon enough.

I’ve also grown concerned that this is what getting old is all about. You spend the rest of your life discovering new pains, rehabilitating or replacing body parts and things on you house and car, burying friends and family, and building grievances until you say fuck it all and just die.

*** Update ***

In the positive category, I can state that my penis was not amputated because of a medical error. So I got that going for me.

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Tic-tok, let’s get this party started

In five days we will learn if the reformers in the Senate have the votes to make endless obstruction in that body more difficult in the 112th Congress.

Talking Points Memo has a fine run down of the tic-tok and dance steps required to get this done. Steve Benen adds some more details here and Jonathan Bernstein filling in over at The Plum Line has yet more background, reporting and speculation on what might go wrong. For yet more background on the issue here is Ezra Klein’s interview with Senate reform leader, Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

A lot rests on what Vice President Joe Biden will do and whether or not Harry Reid sides with the reformers or uses the threat of them to cut a deal with McConnell for some changes short of full filibusterer/obstruction reform.

Over the next few days the clock is ticking and the behind the scenes planning, deal making and whip counting for votes will pick up steam.

As Tim F. has reminded us many times in the past, now might be a good to to call your Senators (again) and this time ask them to stand up for reform on January 5, 2011 (this action is especially encouraged if one or both of your Senators are Democrats). You can find your Senator here or from the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Tim’s Guide for first-time callers can be found here.

Senator Reid can be reached at (202) 224-3542 or by his Web contact form. Vice President Biden can be reached through this Web form or (202) 456-1111 for the comment line or the WH switchboard (202) 456-1414.

Chris Bowers and the folks over at Dkos (aka GOS) are also mobilizing folks for this effort.

What happens to the Senate Rules reform movement next week will define a lot of what can and/or what can not happen in Congress in the coming two years.

So, let’s get this party started.

Cheers

dengre

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Never Said Nothing

This site is genius.

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Posts of the year

Vagabond Scholar has the Jon Swift posts of the year nominated by the bloggers themselves. Check it out.

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Yankee Ingenuity

New rules go into effect in January:

The MLR goes into effect in January 2011. The law requires that large-group plans spend 85 percent of premiums on clinical services and activities related to quality of care. Only 15 percent can go to other items, such as administrative costs, advertising and profits.

For small-group and individual plans, the ratio is 80 percent premiums and 20 percent other costs. If insurers fall short of the standards in 2011, they’ll have to issue rebates for that amount in 2012.

Maine has asked for an exemption, but only on the small-group and individual plans.

Days before a key and controversial provision of the health-care law is set to take effect, Maine is the only state to have asked the Obama administration for an exemption

Consumer advocates have hailed the new “medical loss ratio” standard as a ground-breaking protection against profiteering by insurers. But the law’s drafters were concerned that it could prove too onerous for plans selling to individuals, whose customer base is less stable and healthy than those of plans serving small and large businesses. So the law permits states to request temporary adjustments of the standard from the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Until then, Maine has requested that the medical loss ratio required of its individual market plans be lowered to 65 percent. State officials have also asked that the ratio be calculated using the state’s own, potentially more expansive, definition of activities that can be counted as improving customers’ health.

Maine says that companies that sell small-group and individual policies can’t meet the new MLR rule (80% to medical care and 20% to administrative costs), but I’m wondering if this is about protecting commissions to insurance brokers who sell those small-group and individual policies, rather than any concerns about “onerous” regulation:

The law hits brokers on two fronts: First, it sets up online health insurance marketplaces called exchanges. Beginning in 2014, customers in the individual and small group markets will be able to compare and contrast health plans, which will be regulated by government, without the help of a broker.
Second, starting next year, insurers are required to spend at least 80 percent of their premium dollars on direct medical care. To save money, many are considering cutting or eliminating the commissions they pay brokers, which are considered an administrative expense. Some insurers have already started reducing broker fees.

Insurance brokers lobbied heavily to have their commissions excluded from “administrative” cost calculations during the federal rule-writing process, and failed. Maybe they found a sympathetic ear in Maine?

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Speak To Me Your Song of Greed

“Liberal Democrat” Lanny Davis gets skewered in the New York Times. A taste:

When advocates for poor women with infant children began to question if all the federally subsidized baby formula sold in the United States should include fatty acids known as DHA and ARA — which are supposed to make the formula more resemble breast milk — Mr. Davis was hired by Martek Biosciences, the Maryland-based company that makes the additives.

No one was arguing that these additives were dangerous, but there was debate as to whether they were effective.

Mr. Davis stepped in, sending around an e-mail on Capitol Hill claiming that the legislation that would have mandated more research on the additives was being pushed by “lactivists” who want to force women to continue breast-feeding. The provision was dropped.

Lanny also lobbied for the corrupt leaders of the Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea, because “[W]hat am I supposed to do if the leader of a country comes to me and says he wants to get right with the world, and get right with the United States?”

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Early Morning Open Thread: Reunited

From commentor Paul C.:

When my ex-girlfriend and I moved to Georgia from Myrtle Beach, just over 10 years ago, she promised her kids that they could each have dogs of their own. They took a long time to decide what kind they wanted and ended up with Border Collies because her son saw one on TV, a beautiful long-haired black and white dog, running dramatically across a field, herding sheep by whistled commands and doing amazing things. It said they were smart, and smart is good, and it said they were affectionate, and that is good too, and it said they were very active, which might be good, so he wanted a Border Collie. My girlfriend reasoned that hyperactive children needed hyperactive dogs. I found that reasoning obscure. We found an ad in the paper and took the kids to pick out puppies. I had my eye on one—a little girl with a white face who came running straight to me when I sat down and held out my hand. The daughter chose that one. On the way out, I whispered to her that it was the one I would have chosen.

I’ve been a dog person all my life, even though I haven’t had a dog since I was a kid. I know people who rent sometimes get dogs and then discard them when they have to move, but I could never live with myself if I did that. Dogs have a deep emotional commitment to the pack, and that sort of behavior would be nothing short of betrayal. Owning a dog is a commitment for the life of the dog, sometimes longer. I tried to explain to the kids that being smart has problems as well as advantages, and you need to be prepared for them and be sure of your commitment ahead of time because it isn’t right to back out. Border Collies are indeed smart, and also highly active. That means they are a load of fun, and easy to train, but it also means they get bored easily, and a smart, bored dog will invent jobs for itself. This is why Border Collies are notorious for bad habits, frequently are given up by overwhelmed owners, and aren’t happy unless you work with them all the time. Bad habits are not endemic to the breed; they just need something to do. They are high maintenance dogs, with high rewards to be sure, but they are a lot of work. Besides, being herding dogs, they are given to some behaviors, like nipping, that others breeds don’t do much and that many people find undesirable.

You know kids. With the best of intentions, they got the dogs and, once they were no longer puppies, proceeded to ignore them pretty much of the time. What they really wanted was Platonic dogs who could be relied on to take care of themselves for the most part and, once in a great while, be available for hugging and petting and perhaps the occasional ideal fetch. The dogs, Sugar and Bam-Bam (ok, named by a 16 year old girl and an 8 year old boy), fell into some pretty destructive habits, like creating a cratered moonscape in the back yard and eating the drywall. I did what I could. When I was in Athens, I would always take the dogs for walks, or runs in the park. I managed to redirect their digging behavior. I would try to train them in some basic obedience, and I showed the kids how to do it. But I was only there one day a week, at most, and that simply isn’t enough to have a huge effect. Nobody else held up their end of the deal.

Nevertheless, I loved those dogs. It surprised even me. They were so sweet, and eager to please and would do whatever you asked of them. All they really wanted was for someone to do something with them. It didn’t matter what. They just needed a job and a companion and they were happy. I looked forward to working with them. I loved them so much I even figured out a way to work their picture into a middle school science book that I was writing at work.

My girlfriend broke up with me in February when the dogs were about a year old… I missed the dogs terribly. I used to have their picture as wallpaper on my computer monitor at work, but I took it off at that time. I couldn’t bear to look at it anymore, knowing that I would never see them again.

I bought a house in August of that year and, figuring this was about as stable as I was ever likely to be, started planning to get a couple of dogs. I wanted two because I learned from Sugar and Bam-Bam that it is good for the dogs’ mental health. They are pack animals, and it helps to have part of the pack always nearby. I had learned a lot about Border Collies from Sugar and Bam-Bam and they taught me a lot about myself as well. I had always sort of toyed with the idea of getting BC’s, off and on, but after a little reading I always got nervous about the effort that would be involved with such active dogs. What I learned about myself is that, with Border Collies, that effort is not work. Work is what I do at Tech. Being involved with my guys is playtime. So I started seriously thinking about Border Collies…

I searched the web to see if there were any local breeders with web pages. After plugging “Border Collie Georgia” into Google, one thing that turned up, aside from breeders, was a group called Border Collie Rescue Society of Georgia, a home and adoption service for abandoned dogs. I thought, “Well, that would be pretty responsible—get a dog that nobody else wants, one that really needs me.” So I looked at the pictures of dogs that they had for adoption. The last two on the page were a brother and sister, 2 years old, who had been seriously neglected, and had only each other now. They were separated in their foster homes for the first time in their lives, and she cried for her brother every night. The guy who maintained the web page was asking for someone to adopt both, if at all possible.

They were named Sugar and Sam, and I thought “I know those dogs.” I’d know them anywhere. Sugar is the most beautiful dog I’ve ever seen; I’d recognize her elegant lines from a thousand miles away. And Bam-Bam has this permanent hangdog expression, but you can tell that he’s up to something. And there they were. Same markings, same posture, everything. I was stunned. Someone could easily have changed Bam-Bam to Sam to make it less silly but close enough for the dog to still answer to it.

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College Football Open Thread

Apparently there are some games on…

BTW- I meant to link to this piece on Kodachrome earlier and forgot. For some reason, I found it very sad.

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Open Thread: Thursday Night Menu

Courtesy of our Food Goddess, TaMara:

I hope all of you survived the monster winter storm that hit the east coast. As I write this, we are predicted to get about 12 inches of snow today. It’s coming down pretty heavily right now and I’m not looking forward to my drive home. I will set this up to post automatically, just in case. See how much I love you? (Edit: Home safe and sound, roads are ugly)

Keeping it simple tonight. If your house is like mine, you’re still suffering holiday goodie hangovers, so no dessert tonight, just fresh fruit. Lots of fresh vegetables in this one, too. Trying to help you get ready for those New Year’s resolutions.

On the board tonight:

1. Sausage Pasta
2. Italian Green Bean Salad
3. Bread Sticks
4. Sliced Pears

Recipes and shopping list at the link.

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You Can’t Bluff Someone Who’s Not Paying Attention

I think TBogg has this right about O’Donnell:

She seems like a lovely person; cute, charming, supremely confident in her know-nothingness, gliding through life on adorableness and Jesus love and sincerity. And not much else. A review of her not-running-for-public-office work history doesn’t turn up much in the way of marketable skills other than the ability to parrot talking points, which, when you actually think about it, does kind of qualify her to be a US Senator. Or the business and economics editor for The Atlantic, for that matter. You look at her eyes when she’s asked a question off the beaten path and you don’t get the feeling that that is the sound of gears grinding away that you hear. More like the wind rustling through the willows and maybe a sad loon calling from across the lake.

When it comes to the misuse of campaign funds, I think O’Donnell sincerely believes that the people who gave her money to run for office gave it to her with the understanding that she is doing God’s work no matter how long it takes and a rent payment here and an evening of bowling there are just a place to stay and a thing to do during The Perpetual Campaign of Righteousness, for she is the embodiment of the contributors hopes and desires. They want her to use it as she sees fit.

Sure she’s making a living off of the yokels much like Sarah Palin does, but she lacks the white trash feral cynicism of a Palin. O’Donnell’s no Grifter Grizzly, she’s more Blanche Dubois; spiritually pure, lost in a fantasy and depending on the kindness of strangers.

I actually remember her on the old Bill Maher shows, and TBogg is right- she’s stupid, silly, pig-ignorant, and a true-believer, but I just don’t sense a malicious streak. Sure, the outcome of her policies would have a malicious impact on the American people, but I don’t think she understands that.

In savvier times, Christine O’Donnell would be the mark. She’d be the idiot spending all her days trying to convince grandma to sell all the silverware and the IBM stocks that grand-daddy left behind so that they can give the money to Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, because everyone knows they are doing the Lord’s work. These days, though, we’re such a stupid nation and one segment of our population is so thoroughly into the Jeebus was a Conservative kool-aid that Christine O’Donnell has moved from mark to become God’s Accidental Grifter.

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